5 ms·

Why wouldn't he be in all in them? Is there a size limit?

by scotth 13y ago

jacquesm 13y ago
History books tend to remember things of note. Obama is more of a footnote. Honestly, not a single thing of world class importance stands out. Capturing Bin Laden, maybe.
- ippisl 13y ago
  And possibly that healthcare thing, depending on how it will turn out ?
  - ajuc 13y ago
    What do you know about social policies of the biggest empires from a few centuries ago? Such stuff is lost in noise after a few centuries, only people from the country where it happened learn about it, often not even that.
  - smithian 13y ago
    And then there was the saving of the US auto industry - but, you know, nothing of note.
    - mhb 13y ago
      Tesla success shows what a bad investment the GM/Chrysler bailout was: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/28/tesla-success-shows-what-a-bad-investment-gmchrysler-bailout-was/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/28/tesla-success-...
      - uptown 13y ago
        I'm a huge fan of Tesla, but GM/Chrysler wasn't just about the vehicles. It was about the employees, the economies in that part of the country, and the ripple effect that killing off American auto-makers would have had to every industry they touched. I truly hope what Tesla is doing becomes the future of the American auto-industry, but the nation was in no position, at that time, to facilitate that transformation in a way that was logistically, economically, or politically acceptable.
- venomsnake 13y ago
  Well bin Laden is not a big deal. Nice publicity stunt, surely and nice display of power. I think the main achievement is keeping the economy afloat during 2009 ...
- SkyMarshal 13y ago
  >Honestly, not a single thing of world class importance stands out. First non-white male US president in history? Interesting how quickly such a thing becomes non-notable.
  - jacquesm 13y ago
    That was about what he did during his presidency, not about achieving the presidency in the first place. If becoming president is your main achievement including two terms as president then that's sad, not good. Even Reagan will be remembered because he's seen as a factor (not all good, but ok we'll give him a pass) in the collapse of the former Soviet Union. And Reagan was embarrassing in many other respects. Obama will be remembered as the guy that could have changed so much but didn't. Part of that is his own fault, he was harping so much on hope and change that some of us (including me) actually believed he meant what he said. Consider me disappointed.
    - pstuart 13y ago
      I'm extremely disappointed in him as well (without buying into the hope hype). We do have to take into consideration that the opposing party has declared that their number one priority was to limit him to a single term and had been entirely obstructionist. Also, as President he is in theory limited in what he can actually do. Case in point: he promised to close Gitmo but is unable to do so because it requires Congress to make it happen and they are not cooperating.
  - jasonkolb 13y ago
    Who was the first US president to speak out against slavery? (Hint: it wasn't Abe Lincoln.) I think this factoid will ultimately matter about as much to the average American after we've had 5 more black presidents.
    - ccernaf 13y ago
      Who was the first Catholic president? Sure JFK did several other important things, and there were other events that transpired that made him famous. Still, I think it's pretty important that Obama was at least partly black - it showed that it could be done, and I'm sure he inspired millions of people (black and otherwise).
- uptown 13y ago
  "History books tend to remember things of note. Obama is more of a footnote." You can't be serious.
  - jacquesm 13y ago
    Why not? Give me some examples of stuff that you believe Obama will be remembered for that he did during his time as the most powerful man in the world in 100 years or more from now.
    - uptown 13y ago
      1. First non-white President of the United States 2. Authorized mission that killed Bin Laden 3. Passed health care reform 4. Committed Federal money to US auto industry at a time when nobody else would do so 5. Repealed 'Don't ask don't tell' and held office during major national shift in acceptance of gays and lesbians. 6. NSA That's six things that I believe will be historically notable for Obama's Presidency.
      - jacquesm 13y ago
        1. that was before he became president 2. Quite a nice example of the kind of justice the USA likes to export 3. Extremely limited reform, check on France, the UK and Canada for other options 4. Too big to fail, who else would have done so? 5. Gays & Lesbians, Transgenders and Transsexuals have a long long way to go in the US before parity is achieved. The fact that there was a don't ask don't tell policy in the first place was bad, repealing it is not a victory of any kind. 6. NSA -> that's Snowdens ball, Obama is mostly doing damage control. It's how this whole thread got started in the first place, by Obama claiming that this debate would have happened without Snowden. History books tend to take the long view, 100 years from now the 'first non-white President of the United States' (which is something he achieved before becoming president) is the one thing that I think may just make it. But given the opposition (Palin as VP was unthinkable to me, when they chose her as McCain's running mate they handed the presidency to Obama, and it is surprising how close it still was) it wasn't all that impressive to me. Still, I'll concede that that is what makes his presidency noteworthy. If he'd only done something a bit more useful with the power that he wielded it would have been more impressive. Change we can believe in...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- res0nat0r 13y ago
  This comment solidifies why HN is out of touch with reality. There is more to the Obama presidency than his (up until now lack of involvement with the NSA). Try and think outside the tech bubble for a few minutes on this issue and you will become enlightened.
- saraid216 13y ago
  I have a history book detailing the minutiae of the Gettysburg battle, and I keep meaning to read Robert Caro's books. Did you know that historians are different people and write different books on different topics that are of interest to them? Shocking, but true! In fact, one of the many reasons they do this is because they want to provide interesting information about people in the past to the people in the present! > Capturing Bin Laden, maybe. I like how you can't even get the facts straight here. Bin Laden's dead, dude.
zorked 13y ago
There is a limit, actually. From my non-American point of view, people who want to understand the context and direction of the US in the early 21st century will study Bush as he is the US president that defined this era.
- paganel 13y ago
  Exactly, it's like mentioning Gerald Ford of Jimmy Carter outside of the States. Of course that people have heard their names and sort of know who they are, but not as much as they know about Nixon or Reagan.

Why wouldn't he be in all in them? Is there a size limit?

by scotth 13y ago

Why wouldn't he be in all in them? Is there a size limit?

History books tend to remember things of note. Obama is more of a footnote. Honestly, not a single thing of world class importance stands out. Capturing Bin Laden, maybe.

ippisl 13y ago
And possibly that healthcare thing, depending on how it will turn out ?
- ajuc 13y ago
  What do you know about social policies of the biggest empires from a few centuries ago? Such stuff is lost in noise after a few centuries, only people from the country where it happened learn about it, often not even that.
- smithian 13y ago
  And then there was the saving of the US auto industry - but, you know, nothing of note.
  - mhb 13y ago
    Tesla success shows what a bad investment the GM/Chrysler bailout was: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/28/tesla-success-shows-what-a-bad-investment-gmchrysler-bailout-was/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2013/07/28/tesla-success-...
    - uptown 13y ago
      I'm a huge fan of Tesla, but GM/Chrysler wasn't just about the vehicles. It was about the employees, the economies in that part of the country, and the ripple effect that killing off American auto-makers would have had to every industry they touched. I truly hope what Tesla is doing becomes the future of the American auto-industry, but the nation was in no position, at that time, to facilitate that transformation in a way that was logistically, economically, or politically acceptable.
venomsnake 13y ago
Well bin Laden is not a big deal. Nice publicity stunt, surely and nice display of power. I think the main achievement is keeping the economy afloat during 2009 ...
SkyMarshal 13y ago
>Honestly, not a single thing of world class importance stands out. First non-white male US president in history? Interesting how quickly such a thing becomes non-notable.
- jacquesm 13y ago
  That was about what he did during his presidency, not about achieving the presidency in the first place. If becoming president is your main achievement including two terms as president then that's sad, not good. Even Reagan will be remembered because he's seen as a factor (not all good, but ok we'll give him a pass) in the collapse of the former Soviet Union. And Reagan was embarrassing in many other respects. Obama will be remembered as the guy that could have changed so much but didn't. Part of that is his own fault, he was harping so much on hope and change that some of us (including me) actually believed he meant what he said. Consider me disappointed.
  - pstuart 13y ago
    I'm extremely disappointed in him as well (without buying into the hope hype). We do have to take into consideration that the opposing party has declared that their number one priority was to limit him to a single term and had been entirely obstructionist. Also, as President he is in theory limited in what he can actually do. Case in point: he promised to close Gitmo but is unable to do so because it requires Congress to make it happen and they are not cooperating.
- jasonkolb 13y ago
  Who was the first US president to speak out against slavery? (Hint: it wasn't Abe Lincoln.) I think this factoid will ultimately matter about as much to the average American after we've had 5 more black presidents.
  - ccernaf 13y ago
    Who was the first Catholic president? Sure JFK did several other important things, and there were other events that transpired that made him famous. Still, I think it's pretty important that Obama was at least partly black - it showed that it could be done, and I'm sure he inspired millions of people (black and otherwise).
uptown 13y ago
"History books tend to remember things of note. Obama is more of a footnote." You can't be serious.
- jacquesm 13y ago
  Why not? Give me some examples of stuff that you believe Obama will be remembered for that he did during his time as the most powerful man in the world in 100 years or more from now.
  - uptown 13y ago
    1. First non-white President of the United States 2. Authorized mission that killed Bin Laden 3. Passed health care reform 4. Committed Federal money to US auto industry at a time when nobody else would do so 5. Repealed 'Don't ask don't tell' and held office during major national shift in acceptance of gays and lesbians. 6. NSA That's six things that I believe will be historically notable for Obama's Presidency.
    - jacquesm 13y ago
      1. that was before he became president 2. Quite a nice example of the kind of justice the USA likes to export 3. Extremely limited reform, check on France, the UK and Canada for other options 4. Too big to fail, who else would have done so? 5. Gays & Lesbians, Transgenders and Transsexuals have a long long way to go in the US before parity is achieved. The fact that there was a don't ask don't tell policy in the first place was bad, repealing it is not a victory of any kind. 6. NSA -> that's Snowdens ball, Obama is mostly doing damage control. It's how this whole thread got started in the first place, by Obama claiming that this debate would have happened without Snowden. History books tend to take the long view, 100 years from now the 'first non-white President of the United States' (which is something he achieved before becoming president) is the one thing that I think may just make it. But given the opposition (Palin as VP was unthinkable to me, when they chose her as McCain's running mate they handed the presidency to Obama, and it is surprising how close it still was) it wasn't all that impressive to me. Still, I'll concede that that is what makes his presidency noteworthy. If he'd only done something a bit more useful with the power that he wielded it would have been more impressive. Change we can believe in...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
res0nat0r 13y ago
This comment solidifies why HN is out of touch with reality. There is more to the Obama presidency than his (up until now lack of involvement with the NSA). Try and think outside the tech bubble for a few minutes on this issue and you will become enlightened.
saraid216 13y ago
I have a history book detailing the minutiae of the Gettysburg battle, and I keep meaning to read Robert Caro's books. Did you know that historians are different people and write different books on different topics that are of interest to them? Shocking, but true! In fact, one of the many reasons they do this is because they want to provide interesting information about people in the past to the people in the present! > Capturing Bin Laden, maybe. I like how you can't even get the facts straight here. Bin Laden's dead, dude.

zorked 13y ago

There is a limit, actually. From my non-American point of view, people who want to understand the context and direction of the US in the early 21st century will study Bush as he is the US president that defined this era.

paganel 13y ago
Exactly, it's like mentioning Gerald Ford of Jimmy Carter outside of the States. Of course that people have heard their names and sort of know who they are, but not as much as they know about Nixon or Reagan.